ELECTION 2012 - Hanna out of touch on CNY's economic woes

Multi-millionaire Richard Hanna, the Republican running for the new 22d Congressional District, seems to be a candidate in the mold of Mitt Romney. In an elegant CEO suit, he stands behind workers at Oneida Molded Plastics, some earning $8.50 an hour, and talks about legislation that would give tax refunds to a handful of parents, benefactors or students who are wealthy enough to come up with thousands of dollars in tuition for courses in science, technology, engineering or math.

Hanna seems to be entirely out of touch with the real damage being done by the Great Recession afflicting Central New York and our nation. Consider his voting record:

1) He voted for the Ryan Budget's unprecedented new fast-track procedure to ram through Social Security benefit cuts.

2) He voted to reject the Buffet Rule, which would require a minimum tax rate of 30 percent for those making over $1 million per year. It would have affected 0.3 percent of the population.

3) He voted to cut Medicaid funding in half.

4) He voted to cut education funding by $700 million for our most needy public schools and reduce school improvement grants by 40 percent.

5) He voted to cut the maximum Pell Grants for over 9 million students and supported a budget that would double student loan interest rates.

Fortunately, there is an alternative. Dan Lamb is a well-informed young man who served as a senior adviser to Rep. Maurice Hinchey and has hands-on experience with veterans' benefits, Medicare and Social Security.